I know some of the Pre-Inks are hard to see. This one I highlight because there are times I really have a hard time with positioning – especially her left hand. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to pose Amy and to tell you the truth, I did this a while ago so I’m not really sure how it turned out.
I had done this for friend’s birthdays last year. I need to work on a new one…
I had to really darken this pic to have it show in the post. I usually upload my finished pencils but I thought it would be interesting to show just how loose my original pencils are. Most of the time I write the words on the page so I know how much space I have to work with. Then I put down a very loose layout. From there are many quick, light lines to bring the image into focus until I am happy with the image enough to bring out the pens!
So, this comic has a bit of a back story as my friend for just over 30 years has cancer. He was diagnosed a few years back and was recovering when the cancer came back – this time in his lungs. He’s been fighting like hell to stay positive and live the best life he can while he still graces us with his presence but the treatments are not having the results we were all hoping for. I am so impressed with how he has handled things and am always hoping for the best since I am just not ready to face living this life without him to talk to.
“I know the ones who love us will miss us” – Keanu Reeves
A quick doodle that I use on the business site.
I realize my pencils are pretty tight. This means that most of my inking is literally tracing the almost finished image – making inking sometimes tedious. I thought I might be alone and, reading about other cartoonists methods, I though that my pencils should be a lot looser and unformed.
Then I met Herb Trimpe. One of the seminal artists from Marvel’s Hulk series. Also one of the nicest people I have ever met. He discussed how his pencils have always been just like this.
My friend might be going a little stir crazy in this time of pandemic – he keeps sending me shots of Namor from the swimsuit specials that Marvel put out in the 90’s. Here it is:
He even goes as far as cutting straight to the point:
So I did this for him:
After drawing this cartoon I had an inkling that I had done this joke before… sure enough I did here. I actually think may be funnier and come out better so I am going with it. Look for it in the coming weeks!
The Life I Live... 